Just Keep Swimming

SUMMARY

In this sermon, Karl Ihfe launches a Lenten series focused on the Book of Hebrews. He explains the purpose of Lent as a time of reflection and preparation, rooted in Biblical examples of 40-day periods. Ihfe then delves into the relevance of Hebrews for today's church, highlighting how both ancient and modern Christians struggle with the question, "Is it worth it?" to follow Jesus amidst persecution and challenges.

Ihfe draws parallels between the early church's struggles and contemporary issues such as deconstruction of faith, institutional distrust, and political polarization within Christianity. He emphasizes the Hebrew preacher's message of perseverance, quoting Hebrews 10:35-36: "Do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised."

Using the metaphor from the movie "Finding Nemo" of "just keep swimming," Ihfe encourages the congregation to endure in their faith, keeping their focus on Jesus, "the pioneer and perfecter of faith" (Hebrews 12:2). He concludes by challenging the church to read Hebrews and to support one another in the journey of faith.

TRANSCRIPTION:

Well, if you have your Bible, I invite you to turn over to Hebrews chapter 10. We're launching a new series during this season of Lent. This week, Lent began Ash Wednesday. Maybe you had some of your friends come to work with some ashes on their forehead. We're wondering some about that.

I know we've got a lot of new folks around here and maybe wondering what is Lent? Why are we talking about Lent? Lent is the 40 day period that exists right before Easter Sunday. It's been around for a long time, since 2nd century. Now, if you're looking in your Bible for where is it that Jesus said, I want you to practice Lent, you're not going to find it.

It is not a Biblical command for us to do. Rather, it's rooted in the heart of scripture, this idea of thinking about and reflecting over the course of 40 days to think about who is God and who are we and how we prepare ourselves for the work that God is doing in us. If you've been around the church at all, you've heard this number 40 mentioned probably a few different times throughout different stories in Scripture. You may remember the 40 days and nights that Noah spent on the Ark back in Genesis 8. Or maybe you remember the 40 years wandering in the wilderness that the Israelites spent back in Exodus chapter 16.

Or maybe the story of Moses spending 40 days fasting and praying up on Mount Sinai before God in Exodus 34. Or maybe you remember Jesus spending 40 days out in the wilderness and Luke for preparing himself for his ministry that would that was about to begin. What you might notice about all these and several other kinds of stories that have this period of preparation is that they’re stories of testing, they’re stories of trials where God is at work in the lives of people, helping to open their eyes to who they are and to who he is and to the life that he is calling them to live. If you're also familiar with these stories, you'll recognize that there's a sin component in each one, right? That sin has somehow come in and damaged the story, damaged the people.

And so each of these stories we see the people recognizing the power of sin in their lives, or maybe in the lives in Jesus sake of the people that he is ministering to. And so the season of Lent has been a season of preparation for the church, of taking time to stop and think about how has sin infected my life? How has sin caused me to not see the world the way that God sees it? How has it tripped me up? How has it kept me from living the life that God is calling and created me to live.

And it's also a chance for us to think together about how can we become more of who God is calling us to be as his people, opening us up. So even though it may not be a Biblical command, it is a common practice in the church from the second century where folks would practice at different levels in different ways. Sometimes they would fast from a particular item or thing that can get control of them. And again, as members of Church of Christ, we get to celebrate Jesus resurrection every Sunday together. David led us in that just a few minutes ago.

This season of Lent is a way to embody it, maybe in a way that we don't often throughout the year to think about God. Is there something that I could give up in my life that's starting to nudge you out of the number one spot that's threatening to take over how I think and how I make decisions? And in a more significant way, could I spend some time reflecting on God? Who is it that you're inviting me to be? Which brings us to the Book of Hebrews.

And some of you may be thinking, carl, why are we going through the Book of Hebrews during Lent? And I just want to say thank you for asking. I was really hoping you would. Last year, I got a chance to go to what I call my little preacher camp. It's a short course where we get a chance to dive into God's word together with.

With fellow colleagues of mine preaching in different places around the country. And this last year, we got to be with three of the most profoundly influential mentors in my life, whether I know them personally or not. But a guy named Mike Cope. Mike was here just a few years ago, preaching here in this pulpit, sharing with us some challenges. A guy named John Mark Hicks, who's a theologian and writer, teacher out at Lipscomb University, and a guy named Luke Timothy Johnson.

Dr. Johnson literally wrote the book on Introduction to the New Testament that I studied in seminary. We got to spend the week just poring over the Book of Hebrews, thinking together about all the challenges and the different themes and ideas that the Hebrew preacher is writing and communicating to this church. And I was struck once again at how instructive I think this word from the preacher in the Hebrew would be able to give to us today, not only how powerful it was in his day, but I think if we're willing to listen, if we'll do the hard work of the Lenten season, of preparing ourselves, of opening our eyes and our ears and asking God, hey, can you help me to see what I need to see and hear what I need to hear? I think the Book of Hebrews might have a word for us.

You see, Hebrews was written to a church that was struggling. Got a call from a buddy a couple of weeks ago who just called and said, man, I'm on the struggle bus. The fight is real, Carl. The church in the Book of Hebrews is struggling. They're struggling with persecution and facing all kinds of challenges in their lives.

And, and it's leading at some point to some level of apathy or lethargy. There's this question that moves all through the book that we hear this, this conversation the Hebrew preacher is having with the church. This question of is it worth it? Is it worth it to keep following Jesus? Is it worth it to fight and battle through, to persevere in the face of all kinds of challenges and trials?

Is it worth it? That's a familiar question in our day, isn't it? I mean, we've seen all kinds of challenges to the faith. Ve heard maybe you've heard this phrase, deconstructing faith, where we have Christians who are looking back at the church and going, I don't understand what's going on. They've been wounded or hurt by the church and starting to ask this question, is it worth it?

Is it really worth it? Carrie Neuhoff is a writer, teacher, a preacher, worked in a local church for a long time, has written extensively on this question, especially in dealing with folks who feel like they have to deconstruct that, that things aren't going the way I thought they would. Church isn't turning out to be what I thought it was. Faith isn't something that I thought it was. You may be familiar with David Kinneman from Barnard Group, who's written as well about this.

But Carrie talks about five, five reasons or people are deconstructing. He says the first one is trust in institutions is declining across the board. Not just churches, but just institutions in general. So people see them as corrupt and self serving rather than trustworthy and selfless. A journalist named Yuval Levin wrote an article in 2020 entitled how did Americans Lose Faith in Everything?

He describes it this way. He says we lose faith in an institution when we no longer believe that it plays this ethical or formative role of teaching the people within it to be trustworthy. That in our day there's some pushback against institutions. Are they trustworthy? I've seen some of the damage that they can do.

Can I really trust them? Not only that we live in this diverse and accessible and mobile world. Many of us carry around a device in our pocket every day that can connect us to almost any part of the world in seconds. What do we do when we encounter people who believe differently than us, who think differently than us? What do we do when people begin to push back against what we believe and to threaten who we are and what we believe?

Not only that we've encountered over the last several years, these high performing Christians just totally burn out. Folks walk away from faith that you never would have thought could walk away from faith. And it's discouraging and it's challenging. What do we do with that? Or maybe it's this prideful prioritization of conformity over unity.

There's this census pressure of to be the right kind of Christian, you have to think this one way, you have to vote this one way, you have to do this one thing. Rather than saying look at how God has created this incredible world of people from all over and how do we celebrate our diversity? No, no, no, it's more about conforming people to this particular ideology. It's provoking people to go, is church really what I thought it was? Is this faith thing really worth it?

And finally, even most recently I'd say especially in the last decade, the acceptance of political ideology, idolatry rather in conspiracy theories in Christian communities. What do we do with that? We can no longer trust what we thought we could trust. All the things that I used to take for granted, now they're all, all being pushed back on. What do I do?

How do I respond? What do you do when faith or your community of faith turns out to not be what you thought it would be? How do we respond? I think if we'll listen, I think the preacher of Hebrews might have a word for us. See, the church back in the Hebrew preachers day was wondering many similar things at the point in time that this book was written.

It's been three or four decades since the resurrection and they have heard, we will read about how they've heard the message and they respond with great joy and fervor. And then all of a sudden hard things begin to happen as time marches on and Jesus hasn't returned yet. And these questions come out of what do we do? Is it worth it that life has returned in a lot of ways to the way it was before? I've found Jesus, but now I'm, now I'm facing persecution and shame.

I'm being pushed out of my Community. Is it worth it? The things that I once held true and thought I could put my trust in, they're going away. What do I do? Exhaustion is starting to turn into apathy.

Does this sound familiar at all to the age that we're in today? I think the Hebrew preacher has a word for us, and his word is perseverance. Look again at the passage that Lauren read for us just a minute ago. Don't throw away your confidence. It will be richly rewarded.

You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what's been promised. The Hebrew preacher is a pastor to this church, trying to encourage them to hang in there. In fact, just a few verses before that, maybe one of the more famist passages in the whole book. He says, let us hold unswervingly to the hope that we profess, for he who promised is faithful. Right?

The Hebrew preacher is writing to a church that is struggling. They're struggling to know what to do, if anything, to hold on to the faith that they thought was so sure at that beginning point in their journey and now are beginning to question. Sadly, I think the church in the last decade here in the United States has begun to tear itself apart. Right? That political ideology has trumped our Christology.

And instead of looking for how to be unified, we're beginning to turn on one another. More people are being discipled by their morning news than they are by the mourn word of God. And we see that in how we treat one another. And what gets posted online, what gets talked about in circles, or maybe what's becoming more and more common, I'm afraid, is that the Bible is being taken hostage, right? And it's being forced to say things on behalf of this particular ideology.

And the people in the world, especially young Christians or maybe new Christians, are going, is it worth it? Is this whole Jesus thing worth it? Is it worth following? I mean, if this is how we're going to behave, if this is how we're going to treat one another, and especially to fellow Christians, is it worth it?

You know, it's not just a Republican deal or a Democrat deal. It's not a conservative or liberal deal. Social media has only served to amplify that. And because the algorithms reward us for becoming more and more polarized, more and more radical, in fact. Have you ever noticed the peacemaker accounts on X?

Yeah, me either. Right. They don't have any followers. If you want to look at the most following groups, it's not blessed are the peacemakers. It's the ones who push further and who alieate more and more people who say outlandish things, who claim there's no way that these two groups could ever get along.

Don't trust them, don't listen to them, the peacemakers. Where's their voice, right? We turn on the news and there's the war in Ukraine, there's the war in Gaza, there's war in Africa. We feel the weight and the weariness of the world, right? We feel the decline of the church, right?

The Numbers just aren't there any. People don't come to church like they used to. They don't follow Jesus like they used to. The rise of the religious nuns, right? The no ne s the nuns of those who have seen what the institutional church can do and have turned and walked away.

And we ask, is it worth it? Is all of this worth it?

You see a church too interested in power rather than serving at church, that wants to stand up for my rights rather than stepping out of line and allowing someone else to move to the front. Is it worth it? This question, is it worth it? We feel it, right? I think that's why the Hebrew preacher in chapter 12 is going to say, we've got feeble arms and weak knees.

And the church collectively says, amen, Amen. I don't know that I have the strength to keep going. I don't know how to have the strength to keep the faith. There's this weariness in our day, a church. And the day of the Hebrew preacher was weary and struggling.

Is it worth it? So he uses these metaphors. We're going to encounter these over the next couple of weeks together, the next six weeks as we dive into the book of Hebrews, he uses this nautical metaphor. We're drifting away. He uses these athletic metaphors of wrestling with and running.

In fact, that's where the title of the series I have for this Lenten series, running for your life. Remember, the Hebrew preacher will encourage and encourage the church by saying, Jesus was the first runner. He's the forerunner. Chapter 6, verse 20. And he keeps pointing back to we persevere the way that Jesus did that.

We're going to run chapter 12 with perseverance, the race Marked out for us, keeping our eyes on him, on Christ, so that we can strengthen our feeble arms and our weak knees. But you know what's still true today as it was then? You don't have to be a runner to know what it's like to feel weary, right? Church, you got these young moms out There with two or three kids who can't remember the last time they went to the bathroom alone. And we know a little something about weariness, don't we?

Or maybe that job that you're working, that you wish you could do anything else, right? You're underpaid and overworked, but you can't quit because those bills are coming and you know it, just like I know it. Every month they show up again and again and again, and we feel the weight of it. I'weary this young church was weary wrestling with who are we to be? What does this look like in a world that is pushing back hard against us, right?

That we're still living in our same lives? That just like many of us, just because we begin following Jesus doesn't magically mean everything troubling disappears. No, no, no. It just. It's still there.

But how do we handle it? To a young church that's facing persecution and shame and pushback. Is it worth it? They haven't thrown the towel yet, man. They're asking.

And so the Hebrew creator says, persevere.

You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you'll receive what's been promised. He said just a couple of verses. We're not the ones who shrink back. We're the ones who keep standing in those who have faith. And then chapter 11, this maybe the most popular or famous chapter in Hebrews, this litany, this cloud of witnesses.

And the Hebrew writer is going to give us a new definition of faith, and we're going to dive into it here in just a couple of weeks. But this idea of faith, it's being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see, that faith is just not an idea that floats around in our minds, but it's a reality, it's a lifestyle. It's a way of settling ourselves, our minds and our hearts on the One who would never give up on us. And saying, if he would not give up on me, then I'm not going to give up on him.

Says there's this fatigue, though, this weariness, and it's been building. In chapter 10, he reminds the church, he says, remember those earlier days when everything was going great? Remember that after you'd received the light, when you endured a great conflict full of suffering, that sometimes you were publicly exposed to insult and persecution, at other times you stood side by side with those who were so treated. You suffered along with those in prison and joyfully accepted the confiscation of your property. Because you knew that you yourselves had better and lasting possessions.

So don't throw it away. Don't throw away your confidence. It will be richly rewarded. They start with all this energy and joy and excitement, and that resonates with many of us, right? We began our walk, and then life happens.

Things happen, challenges come, pushback comes, right? We get a diagnosis or a relational breakdown or work doesn't turn to be what I thought it was going to be, or a relationship with a kiddo or a grandparent just isn't going in the right direction. And we're unsure, we're unclear. Is it worth it? Is it worth it?

Do you know what it's like to feel weary, Church?

Can you feel it deep in your bones? Do you ever find yourself wondering, is it worth it? Well, if so, you are in the right place. And for the next seven weeks, I want to invite you to keep coming back. We're going to dive into the book of Hebrews and we're going to listen for this word of perseverance, this word of endurance, to hang in there, to keep moving forward.

He's going to point us back to the pioneer and the perfecter of our faith. He's going to point us back to the forerunner, the original one who ran the race, who showed us the way, who held out and never gave up. He never gave in. The one who loved us so much that he would give up everything, all glory and power and honor to become human, just like us. To die on a cross, a criminal's death, so that we might have an opportunity to keep persevering, to keep holding on, to keep pursuing him.

I told Gary this week, I kind of want to use this example, but I'm afraid this is all that people are going to remember. But I thought, well, maybe it's what they need to remember. You may remember that in 2003, this little movie came out called Finding Nemo. It’s about the young clownfish who, in trying to prove himself, gets captured and taken back to a fish tank in a dentist's office near the Sydney harbor. And his dad, Marlin, is terrified.

And so he chases after his sonn and he meets up with this blue tan tang fish called Dory, who has short term memory issues, to put it mildly. And they go on all these different misadventures, but at one point, they thought they had the missing clue to finding where Nemo was. And it disappears down to the depths, the bottom of the ocean gone.

And so Marlon slumps over on a rock, just completely hopeless, in despair, and this is what happens.

Hey, Mr. Grumpy Gills. When life gets you down, you know what you gotta do. I don't wanna know what you gotta do. Just keep swimming.

Just keep swimming. Just keep swimming, swimming, swimming. What do we do? We swim, swim. Dori.

No singing Hoo Do I love to swim in Doreen when you want to SW you won. See, I'm going toa get stuck now with that song. Now it's in my head. Sorry.

I love that. Now it's stuck in my head. Sorry. I hope it's stuck in your head too. This tagline that goes throughout the entire movie that even when things look at its darkest and its most dreary.

“Just keeps swimming. Just keep swimming. Just keep swimming. I don't know how. Just keep swimming.”

Notice she just grabs this fin and drags them along. And church, sometimes that's what we do for one another as we show up and we're in despair and we don't know where to go, we don't know who to talk to, we don't know what to do. And we just grab each other by the hand and say, just keep swimming. Because he who promised he's faithful, he will work it out. He will make a way.

I don't know how and I don't know where. It may not be on this side of heaven, it may be on the other side of glory, but he will work it out. Right? To a young church that's struggling going, is it worth it? Is it worth it?

Hebrew preacher says, loosely translated, just keep swimming. Just keep swimming. Don't give up now. Right? So, church, I want to challenge you this week.

Would you read the book of Hebrews between now and next Sunday? Would you just spend some time listening for this challenge? Just keep swimming. Right now, Hebrews is some deep waters. There are a lot of incredibly complicated topics and I'm going to skip all of them.

No, I'm not. I'm going to hit as many as I can. Right? But I'm not going to be able to cover all of them because we've only got seven weeks. But I promise you, you're going to hear the heart of a pastor.

And there are some challenging passages in there where he speaks a word of warning to the church. And of course, what pastor who didn't love his church wouldn't warn him? Hey, there's danger ahead. Don't quit now. Don't go there.

Don't do those things. Why? Because he just keeps swimming. You see our tendency when we get discouraged and we lose Heart it is to start to settle for a lesser dream. And the Hebrew preacher won't let the church settle for a lesser dream.

He says keep running.

Some of us know exactly what it feels like to be running for our lives.

And you know why that is? Because we are. We are. You're running for your life. You may not realize it, but you are running for your life because there's a world out there and sometimes a world in here that is going to try tell you to take your eyes off the prize.

The most important thing you could do is get out and vote. That's the most important thing, is you could get out and vote for the right person, the right party, just get the right job, just meet the right person, just do this right thing right. There's this pressure and it feels like you are running for your life because if you don't, well, then what if the Hebrew preacher, I think has a word force church if we'll listen. Just keep swimming Just keep swimming Just keeps swimming. Oh, great.

Karl. Not song stuck in my head. I hope it's stuck in your head all week long. And I invite you to dive into Hebrews with us. Come back.

Every week we're going to be taking apart a different aspect, but it's going to be rooted in what we heard this morning. Don't give up. Don't give in. He who promised is faithful. God, may that be our mantra this week, to just keep swimming in those moments when we are chasing after the very thing that we want most and it just blows up in our face.

And those moments when we feel lost and alone, those moments when we're not sure what to do, God, would you give us the courage to just keep swimming? And in those moments when we don't know what to do, God, would you help us to remain faithful to what we already know to be true? And that's that. Jesus died and was buried, but on the third day he was resurrected. And because of that God, there is hope.

There is hope. As you heard this morning, there's not a road we traveled too far as Reagan reminded us that you won't come looking, that you won't find us and bring us back. Oh God, may that be our truth this week. May we just keeps swimming and we look around beside us and see those who are struggling and grab a hand and bring them along. He God, you would give us eyes to see and ears to hear in a world that's so desperate to no truth, it's so desperate for a new way, a new and a living way.

A life that's truly life. Oh, God, may we be a signpost for them this week. And maybe that's just to our neighbor we're sitting next to right now. Or maybe it's someone at work. Or maybe it's another student at school.

Maybe it's a colleague, a neighbor. Yeah. Would you help us to just keep swimming? Father, thank you for the ways that Jesus gave it all up that we might have a life with you. A life that's full of meaning and purpose.

Not easy, not without challenges or struggles or heartache. But trusting and believing that God, you are at work in the world. Your kingdom is breaking through and one day all will be made new and all will be set right. But between that day and this God, we're going to persevere. We're going to keep enduring.

Would you remind us of the joy of being a part of your family? And again, God, it may just be just that reminder, that friend sitting right next to us. Father, thank you for the relationships that you've given to us in this place. Would you encourage us and challenge us? Remind us this week to not give up, but to endure, to persevere.

Thank you Father, for your word. Thank you for this Hebrew preacher. Thank you for this young church that was willing to keep battling and keep persevering God. We are living testimony today in Lubbock, Texas because of that group of followers who didn't quit and he didn't give in. We look forward to the church that will one day keep on keeping on because we didn't quit and we didn't give up.

We didn't give in. God, it feels like we're running for our life. Would you strengthen our feeble arms and our weakness to help us keep taking our next step? We pray in Jesus name, Amen.